


Motives

by Katherine



Category: Belsomra "Cats and Dogs" Commercial, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Gen, Set during "Legacy", Wake and sleep animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-05-10 23:21:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5604784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katherine/pseuds/Katherine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a universe where the majority of humans have wake and sleep animals, Data meets Ishara Yar.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Motives

In the transmission from Turkana IV on the viewscreen, the woman states "Tasha was my sister." Data does not allow himself to display a reaction. From those on the bridge behind his station come small noises: the crewmembers shifting position and their wake animals moving. Lieutenant Worf's wake animal, more demonstrative than most, catches the tension and begins a low growl that would be at the lower edge of audible to human hearing.

 

When the woman calling herself Ishara Yar has transported to the Enterprise, as Data escorts her to the observation lounge as he has been ordered to, he has a slight but persistent sense of the unusual. Unlike the significant majority of humans whom Data has encountered, Ishara has no wake animal with her. While a high percentage of humans keep their sleep animals in privacy, strictly within their quarters, most human cultures hold that wake animals should accompany the human they live with, whether on their home planet or when travelling on a starship.

It is possible that Ishara Yar does not herself have a wake animal. There is not enough information available as yet to be certain of that conclusion. The away team's mission was not to gather such cultural and demographic information on the inhabitants of Turkana IV. Tasha Yar, during the time she served on the Enterprise, had the expected companions of one wake and one sleep animal. She had not mentioned at what age she acquired them, nor where. The conversations with her that Data participated in were on other topics.

 

Data is learning that humanoids may react negatively to being asked about their decision-making when they have not themselves first spoken of the decision. This is particularly a factor when the humans have not yet reached a decision. Therefore, he does not question Ishara in regards to whether she will permit removal of her implanted proximity detector. Nor does he ask if she is in agreement with the plan outlined by Commander Riker and Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge. The mission parameters have been established.

Data informs Ishara that he will escort her to the Ten Forward lounge for the "social activity" that has been recommended by Doctor Crusher while Ishara's muscles are healing after her injury on the mission. Yet first Data will bring her to his lab. Her expression shifts to one of partially concealed confusion. Data evaluates if it would have been better-received behaviour for him to have told her this when she spoke of Tasha remaining only as a computer file. It is accurate that Tasha remains in the memories of the Enterprise crewmembers who knew her. In addition, it is accurate that Data has guardianship of an animal who was, in a cultural sentiment expressed in Earth poetry, "part of" her.

 

"By definition, he is not "my" sleep animal," Data explains. "That being the case, I considered it appropriate to provide him with a name. This is Spot. He was Tasha's. Her instructions were that after her death, her sleep animal be registered as my responsibility."

Spot unfolds himself from his position on Data's chair. As he does so, Data attempts to calculate how Ishara will register Spot's appearance. He is within the average range of size for a sleep animal, with the typical S-curve of tail. He is the minimally striped brown sometimes referred to in cats and sleep animals as "ginger", with longer, brown guard hairs on his back and plumed tail.

Spot makes a trilling noise, and stretches his head upwards towards Ishara. Sleep animals, like the cats they closely resemble, are frequently designated curious. Ishara glances at Data in a manner he interprets as wordlessly requesting permission. He nods. "Spot may permit you to touch him. He prefers to be scratched behind his ears."

Ishara does so. Data recalls the then-unnamed sleep animal being held in Tasha's arms. He had purred, and Tasha's expression had been soft.

Suddenly, Ishara pulls her hand upwards, away from Spot. "Data, will you take me to this Ten Forward?" she asks. "I'd like to tell you about my past, and my sister." She looks again at Spot, but does not resume petting him. "And maybe I've decided, about my implant."

 

Ishara Yar is remaining on Turkana IV. Her loyalty is to her cadre. She was not, in reality, his friend. The Enterprise has left orbit of Turkana IV and is proceeding to their next mission. These facts are at the forefront of Data's processing as, having completed his duty shift, Data proceeds to his lab.

Because Data does not require sleep, and the information available to him in the Enterprise's computer banks had supplied the fact that sleep animals prefer what is designated a "peaceful" habitat, he has a bed in a corner of his lab for Spot. Spot's behaviour consistently indicates his preference for remaining in the lab in company with him when Data is working with computer input there.

Spot is curled up in his bed when Data enters the lab, but steps out and walks towards Data when Data seats himself at the workstation and initiates the program he left suspended.

There is a minor clattering noise at Spot, having extended a paw, knocks the yellow chip from the flat upper surface of Data's workstation. Data records a four microsecond hesitation before he speaks aloud to Spot. "You may interact with that object."

Data cues up his current highest-priority project. On the floor beside the workstation, Spot bats Ishara's proximity detector back and forth between his front paws. He is silent, and Data does not speak.


End file.
